


Hey, Asshole

by 6ibs



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Drugs, F/M, M/M, Self-Harm
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-19
Updated: 2017-01-25
Packaged: 2018-02-21 18:04:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2477462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/6ibs/pseuds/6ibs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Recently, Merlin's been acting up. Getting kicked out of school, fighting, and breaking the law (more than usual) are just the top of the list. Will Arthur be his salvation or his end?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Uh idk where I'm really going with this and I may or may not continue it (depends on reviews :p) and um yea this fic probably won't have a happy ending so don't read it if youre lookin for that... also merlin's a huge asshole for the most part in this haha im sorry (a little bit at least) this is mostly told from merlins pov but sometimes its arthur (Title inspired by 'Hey, Asshole --Watsky')

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> its kind of a slow start im sorry

**MERLIN**

I was standing in the office of my social worker. Again. It turns out that failing classes and getting into fights is grounds for getting transferred to a new school, and new foster parents. This was the second time since _it_ happened three months ago. I was used to starting over by now; it was too hard to stay in one place. Hopefully I’d get better foster parents this time because apparently my current ones “couldn't control my behavior.” As if they ever really tried. They were normally too drunk to notice if I was gone, which was fine by me. I was out a lot. I had to find ways to make money; my foster parents were poor and could barely afford food for themselves, let alone me. If I didn't buy my own groceries, I doubt I’d even get to eat.

Some of these ways weren't exactly legal, and I’d be in way bigger trouble than I was already. I’d probably be sent to prison. But after looking at the school I’d be going to starting Monday, I thought prison would probably be better. ‘Camelot High’. It just seemed like the snobbiest school on earth. Ugh.

“Merlin, are you listening?” my social worker asked me.

I shook my head.

“I said, you’re meeting your new foster parents Monday after school. I’ll pick you up at school, so you better be ready, ok?”

“Uh, yeah. Of course,” I told her.

“Good, you’re free to go.”

I picked up my bag and left, heading straight to the car I borrowed from my foster parents. I drove to a remote location that I didn't really know; one of my clients had picked it. Some of them are really paranoid about getting caught.

“Did you bring it?” He asked while chewing his lip and looking around.

“Yeah, it’s right here. Chill.” I handed him what he came for.

“How much?”

“50.” I totally ripped the guy off, but he didn't know any better. I charged 20 dollars per gram, and it was an easy way to get money when I needed it. Thank god for ignorant potheads.

I didn't just deal in weed; I sold some pills and alcohol too. I probably made about $300 per week, which was enough to pay some bills and buy food, and also keep my ‘business’ going. I never really made any extra money, except maybe 5 bucks per week.

“See you next week,” the guy said. I nodded in response.

I then drove to the grocery store and bought enough food to make dinner, then went home. I was greeted by shouting as usual, but at least they were just yelling at each other instead of me. Usually, they only noticed me when they wanted to drunkenly shout at me. Good thing that wasn't today.

I doubt they even realized that I was the reason they still had electricity. But whatever, I guess. I threw my bag down and went to my room, which was on the same floor. We didn't really have a big house, it was only one story instead of the usual three.

I threw myself onto my mattress and sighed. I was not looking forward to Monday.

**ARTHUR**

Being the student president and head of the welcoming committee, I was the first one to know about any new students, and it was my job to show them around. I was told by the principal that a new one would be here today. I looked around but couldn't see anyone in the waiting room, where the new students are supposed to go. I ran my hand through my hair. Where was this kid?

On a whim, I decided to check outside, and there he was, sitting on the steps, smoking a cigarette.

He’d be a lot of work.

“Hey, you!” I yelled, speed walking straight to him.

He ashed his cigarette and stood up. “What do you want?”

I looked at him. He had black hair and blue eyes, and was really lanky. He was different than most other kids at Camelot High, who were the definition of preppy. He was wearing black skinny jeans and a leather jacket. I could see a square bulge in his pocket where he kept his box of cigarettes. He didn't have a bookbag with him, and I gathered that he didn't really care about school. He had a look in his eyes that told you if you messed with him, you'd definitely regret it. Overall, his appearance just screamed “DANGER!”. I wanted to find out more about him.

“Hi, I’m Arthur! Arthur Pendragon.” I said cheerfully.

“Yeah, whatever,” he replied, eyeing me with what seemed to be disgust.

“It’s nice to meet you!” I stuck my hand out. He didn't take it.

He started to leave, but I blocked him.

“What’s your name?” I asked, determined to start a conversation.

“Look, do you need something?”

“Uh…I’m head of the welcoming committee. I’m supposed to give you a tour.”

“Look, I've seen a high school before. I can find my way around without your help.” He shoved past me.

“But—”I grabbed his arm.

“I have a class to get to.” He said, shook me off, and walked to what was probably his first period class. I smiled inwardly; it was my first period as well.

Walking in, I made a vow that I would get this kid to like me.

**MERLIN**

I was so glad when I was able to get away from that kid, Arthur. I could just get the sense he was a huge prat.

I walked into my class and chose a seat in the very back corner, and then started to charge my phone with the outlet next to my seat.

“Uh, no phones in class,” the girl in front of me whispered.

I rolled my eyes. This school was so lame.

The door opened and I looked up. The one walking through it was Arthur, of course. I groaned and sunk down in my seat, hoping he wouldn't notice me. He looked at me and waved, then came over to sit next to me.

“Hey man! Remember me?” Arthur said with a smile.

“Yep. We met like five minutes ago,” I said, my voice dripping with annoyance.

His smile faded for a minute, but then was back in full force.

“So, what’s your name, dude? You never got a chance to tell me earlier.”

“Yeah, let’s keep it that way.”

I could tell he was about to say something else, so I shoved my earphones in and started to listen to music, and then played a couple games on my phone.

About twenty minutes later, my earphones were painfully ripped out, and I heard a shrill voice.

“ _Merlin!_ No phones in class! Have you even been paying attention to this discussion?” It was my teacher.

“Uh… well, not exactly.”

“Hand your phone to me, please.”

“Ha. No thanks.”

The classroom gasped. Backtalking teachers was probably unheard of here.

“Detention for you, Mr. Emrys!” She practically shrieked.

Getting detention in the first half hour of school? That’s a new record.  
Arthur tapped me on my shoulder. “Hey, Merlin Emrys." He looked smug that he knew my name. "You really shouldn't make her mad. She’s really sensitive and doesn't really have any patience for…troublemakers.”

I feigned hurt. “Me? A troublemaker?”

He tried to resist rolling his eyes, and then plastered a smile on his face yet again. I wondered if he ever went ten seconds without smiling. Probably not.

“Look, Merlin, I know you’re new, but blatant disrespect for the school and its teachers isn't really tolerated here.”

“Look, Arthur, get this: I. Don’t. Care. So shove it.” I snapped.

I could tell he was fighting anger, but he tried his hardest not to show it. “Well, if you really feel that way…” He said, with the stupid smile still on his face.

There’s no way he could keep that smile on his face. Something _had_ to tick him off, and I really wanted to see what he would look like angry. Walking out, I made a vow that I would piss off Arthur Pendragon.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> didn't expect to update so soon but here I am

**MERLIN**

By third period, the guilt was setting in. I was probably way too mean to that Arthur kid, but I just couldn’t bring myself to really care. I doubted he even cared that much what I said anyway; he just met me.

I sighed as I tried to pay attention to what my teacher was saying, but I just couldn’t. Physics was not my strong suit. School in general wasn’t, but I had the most problems with science.

 I remembered a time years ago where I used to be good in school, and enjoyed it too, back when I was an average kid who was a little on the nerdy side, but since then I’d been too preoccupied with things like making enough money to live rather than worry about school. After a while, it began to bore me. Now here I am, with one B, two Cs, and two Fs. Whoops.

The bell rang. I looked down at my page, it was blank. I crumpled it up and threw it in the trash as I walked out.

I made my way to my lit class. Because of how crowded the halls were, it was slow going. Finally I got to my fourth period class and looked around for a place to sit.

There was a girl in the back of the class who looked obviously bored. I decided that she seemed cool and went to sit next to her.

“Hi, I’m Morgana,” she said, looking up at me briefly.

“Merlin.”

“So, you’re new, huh?”

“Uh, yeah,” I said, sitting down.

“Cool. This school sucks at first but you get used to it.”

“Yeah, that’s how it is with every new school,” I told her.

“You move a lot?”

“Recently, yeah.” I shifted a little, hoping she wouldn’t ask about it.

She raised her eyebrows but didn’t say anything about it.

My lit teacher droned on and on about some boring book everyone had read. In the back of my mind I knew I should probably buy it, but I didn’t really want to spend money on something as useless as a book I’d read once and then never touch again.

I think Morgana could sense how lost I was because she leaned over. “Don’t worry the book’s boring as hell anyway. Don’t waste your time reading it, you can just copy my notes instead,” she whispered.

I was so thankful I had chosen to sit next to her.

The lunch bell rang a couple minutes later. School food sucks, and I hadn’t packed a lunch. My plan was to just go outside and smoke a cigarette.

“Hey Merlin, do you wanna eat with me and my friends?” Morgana asked.

“Uh... Yeah, ok.” I didn’t really want to, but I figured her friends probably wouldn’t be that bad.

We walked to the cafeteria and she waved at some girl. I followed Morgana over to the table where that girl was sitting at, and we joined her.

“Gwen, this is Merlin. Merlin, this is Gwen.” Morgana introduced us.

I said hey and Gwen smiled.

“Aren’t you gonna eat something?” Gwen asked.

“No, I’m not really that hungry,” I replied.

After five minutes of listening to Morgana and Gwen talk, someone else sat down. I didn’t really feel like looking up, but then Gwen said “Hey, Arthur!” and I had to make sure that maybeit was a different Arthur. I looked up and no such luck, it was annoying Arthur.

“You know what, actually I _am_ gonna eat something. I'll be in line.” I stood up and left the table.

**ARTHUR**

I was so excited when I saw Merlin at my lunch table because I thought that just maybe it’d be a chance to get him to like me. I was hopeful, but when he left I realized it probably wouldn’t ever happen. I had a feeling Merlin wasn’t coming back.

 I didn’t get why he hated me. I’ve never had someone hate me before, and I didn’t like the feeling.

“What was that about?” Morgana asked.

“Has Merlin expressed any… instant dislike towards either of you?” I said, not really answering her question.

They shook their heads. My brow furrowed and I tapped the table.

“He doesn’t really seem like the type to do that,” Gwen said.

I sighed.

“Maybe he has a reason?” Morgana said, trying to be helpful. I could sense some doubt in her voice.

“Yeah. Right,” I said sarcastically.

“Well it’s only the first day,” Gwen smiled at me, “maybe he’ll be better as time goes on.”

I didn’t answer her. Instead, I got up and walked out of the cafeteria. As I was leaving, I looked at the lunch line. Merlin wasn’t there. Of course.

I went outside to sit down and maybe think about why Merlin seemed to hate me so much. I opened the door and stopped in my tracks.

“Can’t fuckin believe it,” I muttered.

**MERLIN**

I actually had planned on getting food and going back, I swear. But somehow I found myself walking outside the school. I sat on the steps and took out a cigarette like I had originally planned. I lighted it and inhaled, calming down already.

I was almost done smoking when I heard a voice.

“Can’t fuckin believe it,” someone muttered, their voice sounding familiar. I had a feeling it’d be Arthur, so I didn’t look up. Maybe if I ignored him he’d go away.

Nope. I could hear him sit down next to me, and then he grabbed my cigarette and dropped it on the ground.

“Hey! What the fuck, man?” I snapped at him.

“Why do you hate me?” Arthur asked.

I shrugged.

“We just met. Today. And for some reason, you’ve hated me since the minute you saw me. _Why_?”

I shrugged again. There was no point in telling him, it probably wouldn’t make sense to him anyway.

“That’s not an answer.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I said, still not looking at him.

“How can I not? This kid I just met is disgusted whenever he sees me, and it doesn’t make sense. I didn’t _do_ anything. No one’s ever hated me before,” he said, seeming agitated.

I chuckled. “Am I putting a spot on your record? The perfect Arthur Pendragon now has someone who doesn’t like him. What a tragedy.”

“Look, Merlin, maybe if you tell me what’s wrong I could, like, fix it or something.”

“Ha, good luck with that. Seriously, don’t worry about it. You couldn’t possibly understand anyway,” I told him.

The end-of-lunch bell rang. I got up and walked down the steps.

“Hey, where you going? We still have one more period left,” Arthur said.

I ignored him and continued walking. I remembered earlier today when I felt guilty about being mean to Arthur. Now I just didn’t care.

My social worker was going to pick me up at the end of the school day so I had to be back at the school by 1:50. I had some time to kill, so I walked to Burger King and ate there since I never had lunch.

Half an hour later, when I was done eating, I decided to walk back to school early so I had extra time in case I was slow. I got there five minutes before school ended. I contemplated smoking another cigarette, but decided against it. The bell rang and students walked out.

“You came back?” Arthur asked. Of _course_ he saw me.

“Yeah. I’m, um, getting picked up and I didn’t wanna explain that I ditched,” I said. Also I didn’t know where my new house was.

My social worker pulled up in her car and waved at me.

“Is that your mom?”

“What? Oh, yeah. Mmhmm.” I lied; I didn’t want to explain the whole foster parents thing.

I walked towards the car and opened the door. There was a bunch of paperwork on the seats and my suitcase was on the car floor.

“Oh, just move the papers, it’s no big deal,” she said.

I moved them and sat down.

“So, how was school today?”

I groaned. “Boring.”

“Are you excited to meet your new foster parents?”

“Not really.”

She didn’t make an effort to continue the conversation after that. A couple minutes later we pulled up in a nice neighborhood. I didn’t read the name.

“Here’s your house!” she exclaimed, excited for me. It was a lot nicer than my old houses.

I grabbed my suitcase and went up the driveway. After about a  minute of just standing there, I rang the doorbell. It opened and I took a step forward, ready to be greeted by my new family.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im sooooooo sorry omg my computer broke back in october and i just got a new one whoops...well anyway here's an update finally. i made it longer than usual as a way of saying sorry but its still kinda short haha

**MERLIN**

“Hi, you must be Merlin! I’m Hunith, your foster mom,” she said, shaking my hand.

“Yeah, hi,” I said, walking past her.

A little kid was running around the living room.

“That your kid?” I asked.

“Yes, we adopted him. His name is Mordred.”

I looked around. It was a really big house, with three floors and everything.

“Would you like to see the rest of the house?” Hunith asked.

I nodded, and she led me up the stairs. We went down a hall and she opened a door.

“Here’s your room,” she said.

“So, I get the whole room? Like all of it?” I asked incredulously.

“Yes, of course! Why wouldn’t you?”

I thought back to one of my foster homes where I slept on a mattress in the kitchen. There was only one bedroom, one bathroom, the tiny kitchen, and a desk in what passed for a living room. This was definitely a step up.

“Yeah, my bad. Thanks,” I smiled at her.

“Would you like to continue the tour or just rest here?” Hunith asked.

“I’ll stay here if that’s cool.” She nodded.

I flopped down onto the king sized bed and sighed. It was going to be a better life for sure. There were only two problems, and they sort of had to do with each other. Will was gone, and instead there was that kid, Arthur. I knew I was being unfair to him, but I couldn’t help it. He looked so much like the one who…I couldn’t think of it right now. Tears started dripping from my eyes. I took out a picture of Will from my suitcase and stared at it.

“I miss you buddy,” I choked out, clutching the picture until my knuckles turned white. I took a deep breath and let go of the photo.

I decided to check my phone, and I had three texts from one of my clients.

_Tyler: I heard you moved_

_Tyler: is it true? I didn’t see u at school today_

_Tyler: are u still gonna deal? I have the money_

_Me: sorry man I cant bc yea I did move_

_Me: I’m all the way in fucking Avalon county now_

_Me: so if ur willing to drive 2 hours then go for it haha_

_Tyler: shit dude well I’ll have to find another dealer_

_Tyler: but I know some people in Avalon if u still need money_

_Me: oh yea that’d be sweet_

I put the phone down. It’d be nice to do something familiar here, even if it was completely illegal. At least it’d get my mind off… I shuddered.

I looked around my new room. There was a flatscreen on the wall, so I turned it on and started watching some episodes of Futurama. I probably had homework, but I didn’t pay attention in class so I didn’t know what to do. As if I would’ve done it anyway.

A couple hours had passed, and it was 11 o’clock. I was watching some weird comedy movie that I wasn’t really paying that much attention to. While trying to figure out what the hell was going on in it, I heard a knock on the door.

“Come in,” I said.

“Merlin?” Hunith said, walking in, “it’s time for bed.”

“What?” I said. I had never had a bedtime before.

“Um, 11 o’clock. That’s a normal time for teens to go to bed, so that’s when you’re gonna, uh, go to bed,” Hunith told me. She looked a little nervous. She had probably never done this before; raising a delinquent teen who had no concept of a regular family. Just like I had never had a parent who cared before.

“Ok, yeah, I’ll get ready.” Normally I went to bed around 2 AM, which is probably why I was so damn tired all the time. I tried not to sleep often, but I was exhausted.

I brushed my teeth and got into bed, falling asleep pretty much straight away.

_It was so loud…screaming…blood everywhere…Will’s face was frozen in permanent surprise…I screamed louder but no help came…Will was silent…the shot rang in my ears…his body went cold…_

I woke up crying. I was having nightmares again, the same nightmare I’d had for three months. Every night, just reliving that day. It was all my fault. I reached for my blade that I kept in my pocket at all times. I brought it to my scarred wrists.

“…my fault…my fault…” I muttered as I sliced the blade across my skin. After I made about 20 cuts, I stopped. I let the blood dry before rolling the sleeves of my hoodie back up. I was still crying, and I cried myself to sleep. This time I didn’t have nightmares.

I woke up to the sound of Hunith.

“Merlin, wake up! It’s 7 o’clock! C’mon!” She yelled through the door.

I groaned. It was so _early_. School started at 8:30, I would’ve had plenty of time to get ready if I had slept for another hour.

“I’m coming…” I said, rubbing my eyes and yawning. I walked to my bathroom, undressed, and got into the shower. My arms were sore and caked in blood. I ran warm water over them until they were clean, and then I started to actually shower.

Ten minutes later, I was standing in front of my closet, deciding what to wear. I pulled out a pair of jeans and a shirt, and put them on, not forgetting to put a hoodie on after.

I went downstairs to eat breakfast. I was spreading butter on my toast when Hunith came downstairs.

“Would you like a ride to school?” she asked. I nodded.

We got in the car and spent an awkward ten minutes driving to school. Neither of us were talking, we just quietly listened to the songs on the radio. Finally, we pulled up at the school and I got out of the car.  I rubbed my arm through my hoodie as I walked up to the entrance.

I went to my first period class and sat down. My phone buzzed and I contemplated taking it out after getting detention for it yesterday. I decided to do it anyway.

_Unknown number: hi, I’m Lisa, Tyler gave me ur number…_

_Unknown number: he said ur a great dealer btw_

I added her to my contacts as Lisa, and then I texted her back.

_Me: I wouldn’t say great lol but thanks_

_Me: im guessing you live in Avalon?_

_Lisa: yea I do and I go to CHS so u could give it to me during lunch maybe_

_Lisa: how much for an ounce_

_Me: I don’t normally sell ounces but id say $200 would be good_

_Lisa: ya ok that’s fair_

_Lisa: I don’t have the money on me so itd have to be tomorrow_

_Me: ok, see u then_

The bell rang and I put my phone away. I glanced up and saw Arthur was getting into his seat.

“Hey Merlin,” he said cheerfully. I groaned in response. His smile faded, and all I could think was ‘good.’

I knew it was rude, and unfair, but how could I be nice to someone who looked like…

I cleared my throat and began to focus on the teacher. I didn’t want to start crying in class, especially not in front of _him_. My teacher was talking about math, and as much as I tried, I didn’t understand any of it. Other students were nodding or writing down notes, but I was lost. At least I had moved in the middle of the unit, so I had an excuse to be confused.

“So then the factor would be…” my teacher was saying as she looked around, “…Merlin! Why don’t you try?”

I stared at her for a second. “Uh…I’m gonna be honest, I have no clue.”

“That’s ok, anyone else want to give it a shot?” she asked.

Arthur raised his hand. I rolled my eyes and stopped paying attention. I started doodling on my sheet of notebook paper. I drew a picture of Arthur, and then I drew a dragon next to him who was breathing fire on him. I was really proud of it.

“You’re a good artist,” Arthur whispered to me.

I laughed a little. I don’t think he knew it was him.

“Thanks,” I said, trying to stop laughing.

I got really bored and took a nap. I was woken up by the bell and sleepily got up. I folded my drawing and put it in my pocket, and then headed for the door. I went to my second period class, government, which was on the second floor.

Government wasn’t actually that bad of a class. I was in on-level, because there’s no way I would take that as an AP class. I understood what was happening and I was able to answer questions correctly, which was a first so far. I wrote my notes and decided to myself that I would make an effort to get at least a high B in this class.

**ARTHUR**

When I left math, I felt good. I had gotten Merlin to laugh, which was a step forward. I thought about his drawing while on my way to lit class. It really was amazing, especially for being just a doodle. I had a suspicious feeling that the person on fire was supposed to be me though.

I walked in to lit class and sat next to Gwen.

“So, did you talk to Merlin yet?” she asked as soon as I sat down.

“Yeah, actually, I did. He was grumpy and annoying at first, but I think he’s starting to hate me less. He actually laughed at something for once,” I told her.

“Well, that’s good. Maybe he was just in a bad mood or something yesterday,” she said.

“Yeah, maybe. I guess we’ll find out for sure at lunch, y’know, if he sits with us at lunch or not.”

Gwen nodded. “Did you read the last chapter? I totally forgot and Mrs. Richards said we might hav a quiz today, and I _can’t_ fail this quiz because I’m on the edge of a 90 and I don’t want to bring it down to a B…”

“Oh, yeah I did. So what happens is…” I started explaining the content from the last chapter, and talked about the way I interpreted it. Gwen seemed to understand it so I figured she would do well if we ended up having the quiz.

“Ok class, quiet!” Mrs. Richards said. “As I mentioned earlier, there was a chance of you having a quiz today. Well, you do, so come up and take a sheet of paper and get started. Good luck!”

A lot of the kids groaned as we took the paper. No one wanted to take the quiz. I started filling out answers, and I had finished within ten minutes. I was the second kid done; I was a pretty quick test-taker. I turned in my paper and sat back down, taking out my phone.

_Me: u have Merlin fourth period right? Can u ask him about me?_

_Morgana: sure thing, ask him what_

_Me: just what he thinks about me I guess_

_Morgana: oooh, has my brother gotten a crush on the new kid?_

_Me: shut up! of course not. he just hates me or something_

_Me: and I wanna know why. so please ask!!_

_Morgana: will do_

I put my phone away and felt slightly better. Maybe I could get to the bottom of this Merlin thing by the end of the day. I really hoped so.

**MERLIN**

I went to lit class, which I was looking forward to because lit was easy, and also my lunch period. I was really hungry. But I also didn’t want to go because Morgana was in it also, and she was probably going to ask me about Arthur. Why did they care so much? So what if I didn’t like _one person_? It shouldn’t have been a big deal.

I sighed as I walked in. I sat down and noticed Morgana wasn’t there yet, so at least I had a few minutes of peace.

I thought to myself how much easier everything was before _it_ happened. I had problems, sure, but they were manageable. Anything was manageable with Will by my side.

‘I bet you’re just laughing at me up there, aren’t ya?’ I thought to myself, looking up at the ceiling.

If Will was looking down on me, I’m sure he’d get a kick out of how pathetic I’d been since he left. He probably would’ve told me something along the lines of, ‘get over me idiot, I’m not that important. Just live your life,’ but even if he could tell me that, I wouldn’t listen. He’d still be gone. And I’d still be here. It’s not fair. It should’ve been me, and I knew it. That’s who he was aiming for. Me. God, I was so mad at Will. What gave him the right to do that?

“Hey,” Morgana said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

“Oh, hey Morgana…” I replied.

“You ok?” she asked.

“Yeah, of course. Don’t worry about me. Anyway, what’s up?” I said. I hoped she didn’t press further about my mood.

She didn’t. “I was just wondering, since yesterday at lunch you seemed kind of…angry with Arthur, did he do something? Do you hate him for some reason?”

“I wouldn’t say I hate him, I just…It’s complicated, honestly.”

“Maybe just give him a chance? He might not be like what you think,” she said.

“I’m almost certain he won’t,” I replied. If he was what I thought of when I saw him, I’d have bigger problems. “Look, I’m sure Arthur’s a nice guy and all, but I just can’t do it. He’s too… forget it, you wouldn’t understand.”

“At least eat lunch with us today? Please?” she asked.

I had opened my mouth to argue, but then the lunch bell rang.

I decided to eat lunch with them because fuck it, I didn’t want to be friendless.

“Yeah, I’ll eat lunch with you guys.” Morgana beamed at me.

We started walking to lunch together, talking about teachers. I was complaining about my 3rd period teacher. She agreed and said he was one of the worst, but she had taken that class over the summer so she didn’t have to deal with him now.

The halls were crowded with a bunch of hungry kids. It was taking a while to get to the cafeteria.

“Hey, Merlin! Hey, Morgana!” Gwen yelled from across the room.

We walked over to her and sat down. On accident, I had sat directly across from Arthur, and we looked straight into each other’s eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> holyyyyyy shit. i honestly have no excuses all i can say is sorry. its been so long jfc. i legit forgot i was even writing this. but anyway here's a new chapter, and ill try to update again sometime this week! also i know this is short so my bad

**ARTHUR**

“Soooooo Merlin,” I said, drawing out the words while smiling brightly at him, “how’s your second day at Camelot?”

He looked at me with an expression that I couldn’t quite read, but at least it wasn’t the blatant disgust he looked at me with yesterday.

“S’okay,” Merlin muttered. His lips curled up in a small smile and he added, “I think I might already have a job opportunity.”

The way he said it made me feel strange. It was as if there was a joke he was telling, but none of us were in on it. No one else at the table noticed it though.

“Oh my _gosh_ , that’s amazing!” Gwen gushed. “I’ve been looking for a job for literally forever!”

Morgana snorted. “Oh, because otherwise you’d never be able to afford anything.”

“Coming from you, Morgana. My dad’s not a fancy lawyer like yours. And anyway, it’s senior year. I wanna learn a little independence,” Gwen said.

I glanced at Merlin again. He didn’t seem to be paying attention to their conversation at all, instead looking as if he was worlds away. He sure was a mysterious guy. And I wanted to learn about the man behind the mystery.

I nudged Merlin softly and he jerked a little bit as he remembered we were all here. “So tell us more about this job.”

“Why, you looking to turn in an application?” He smirked.

“No, I was just—” I started, but he interrupted.

“Oh, right. I forgot you’re rich. You’ve probably never needed to work for anything in your life, have you?” Merlin said, his voice dripping with malice.

Gwen looked over when she heard the tone of his voice, and Morgana smiled sadly at me and started tapping on her phone. After a few seconds, my phone beeped.

_Morgana: stop trying so hard_

_Morgana: being friends isnt something u can just force_

_Me: I just don’t get why hes like this! I didn’t do anything wrong_

_Morgana: chill out its only been two days_

I sighed and put my phone in my pocket. She had a point, but that didn’t make it any less frustrating.

**MERLIN**

It pissed me off that Arthur was being so nosy. I didn’t even like the kid, and I definitely wasn’t gonna tell him shit. When he asked about that ‘job opportunity’, I couldn’t think of a quick enough lie so instead I opted to just be an ass.  It probably wasn’t smart of me to say that, but I couldn’t resist. The fact that they were all so clueless made my little private joke worth it.

Gwen was talking about some guy named Gwaine, who was just _so_ dreamy. I tuned in, because I was new and all, and I wasn’t gonna pass up on the opportunity to hear about the hot kids at the school. Not that I specifically leaned that way. To me, if someone’s hot, then that’s all there is to it. It doesn’t matter what gender.

“…And I swear, this is the year where I’ll finally talk to him! He’s in my econ class, and it’s senior year so I might as well go for it, right?” Gwen was saying.

Morgana was the only one who looked genuinely interested in the conversation; Arthur was pretending to listen but was doing that annoying thing where he kept looking over at me. Ugh.

The lunch bell rang and we all got up. I walked to my next class which I had ditched the day before. It was econ, a class I was definitely not looking forward to. Jesus. Why did all of the senior year classes suck?

“Hello, you must be the new student! I was going to welcome you to the class yesterday, but you didn’t show up,” The teacher said.

“Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. I, uh, wasn’t feeling well, so I went home.” I lied.

“I see.” The teacher raised his voice. “Class, this is Merlin Emrys, our new student. Please make him feel welcome.”

My face went red, and I quickly took a sat in the back. I didn’t get why my teacher had to embarrass me like that, it’s not like I was a fucking third grader. No one had to ‘make me feel welcome’.

The girl next to me turned with obvious curiosity. “So, you’re Merlin, huh? I’m Lisa.”

I said hi before making the connection. “Oh, Lisa from the…. The one that knows Tyler?”

“Yep,” she said, before looking me over. “You know, you’re a lot different from what I thought. I expected some tattoos.”

I laughed, and we both turned to pay attention to the teacher. Well, in her case she was paying attention. I was just staring ahead of me and wishing for the bell to ring so I could go home.

Finally, the bell did ring, and I hurried outside while I waited for Hunith. It was seriously uncool to be a senior who still got picked up from school. I thought about investing in a bike, or maybe saving up to buy some cheap used car.

Speaking of cars, right as I thought that I saw Arthur open the door to a bright red, shiny car. Of course he had a fucking Lamborghini. I rolled my eyes.

“Hi sweetie!” Hunith exclaimed as she pulled up to where I was waiting.

I thought it was odd that she called me sweetie, but I didn’t say anything. She was just trying her best to be a good mom.

“Hey, Hunith,” I said, swinging into the passenger side.

“Was school fun?” She asked.

I shrugged. “It was decent.”

“Well, that’s how it always is at first,” Hunith said reassuringly. “It’ll get better.”

I suppressed the urge to sigh. I’ve had much more experience with this, and I knew that it wouldn’t. Of course, I wasn’t going to tell Hunith that. “We’ll see,” was all I said.

We pulled into the driveway. Hunith put the car in park, turned off the engine, and then looked at me. “Now, dinner is at 5 and I expect you to do some homework before then. Alright?”

I nodded and got out of the car, speeding up to my room. I turned on the TV and thanked god that the house had Netflix. I flicked through some things before deciding to watch The Office. That show was always a good choice.

I tried to ignore the throbbing in my arm, like I had all day. But eventually it got to be too much, and I carefully rolled up the sleeve to look at the damage I had done the night before. I immediately regretted how carried away I got yesterday, because my arm looked like a damn candy cane with the mixture of red and white that was going on.

I sighed and checked my phone calendar, realizing with a start that Friday was Will’s birthday. My eyes wandered to the suitcase where I had been keeping his present for the past six months. I had been so excited, planning it out months in advance. Occasionally I’d tease him about waiting half a year for the sickest birthday present in existence. It always annoyed him, and he’d beg for me to give him hints as to what it was. Until three months ago.

Tears started streaming down my face as I remembered the worst day of my life. The far, and the anger that came after. And the blood. Always the blood… I was reaching for my razor when I heard a knock on the door.

“Merlin, time for dinner!” Hunith called.

I hastily rolled down my sleeve and used it to wipe my eyes.

“Coming!” I yelled back. How had it become 5 o’clock already?

**ARTHUR**

Dinner with Morgana and Dad was awful. Dad was talking about some case he won, and I felt bad for the poor sucker who had tried to go against him. He was probably broke now. Morgana kept looking at me with those judging eyes, and I knew the second we were alone she would corner me and ask me questions. Probably about Merlin.

“Well, that was a lovely dinner. Thanks, Dad!” Morgana said cheerfully, kissing my dad on the cheek as she went to put her plate away.

“Don’t thank me, thank the maid,” He laughed.

I sighed. Maybe Merlin was right about me not having to work for anything. No one in my family did. I put away my plate and tried to sneak to my room, but of course Morgana was waiting for me.

“So, day two of the mysterious new boy. How’s your obsession going?” She asked.

I looked at her indignantly. “I am _not_ obsessed.”

“Oh, of course not. I’m sure you didn’t spend all dinner thinking about him, and those bright blue eyes of his…”

I blushed. “Fine maybe I was thinking of him, but certainly not those eyes of his. It’s not like I have a crush on him, I just want him to like me!”

“Whatever you say, brother,” Morgana said, and then went silent. I was happy that she seemed to have dropped the subject.

“Merlin and Arthur, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S—” She began to sing, but I cut her off by shoving her out of my room and slamming the door.

“—I-N-G!” She yelled from outside my room.

“Oh, shut up!” I yelled back.

I was suddenly very annoyed, and I couldn’t tell if it was because Morgana was wrong or if it was because she was right. Either way, I wished she had kept her mouth shut.

I couldn’t like Merlin, could I? I mean, sure I wanted to be friends with him, but I couldn’t _like_ him. He was an ass to me. And he wasn’t even my type, all bad boy and practically looking for trouble. But something about him was so intriguing…


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is such a fucking short chapter omg it felt much longer when i wrote it

**MERLIN**

I woke up at 6:30, half an hour before Hunith was going to come in and wake me up. I was a bundle of nerves, knowing that today was going to be my first deal in a new area. And it was going to be on fucking school property. The thought of getting caught gave me a rush, and I was filled with adrenaline. I liked to see how far I could push the boundaries of stupidity until I would land myself into actual trouble. So far, so good.

I pulled my bookbag that I hadn’t brought to school yet out of my closet and began to fill it with the ounce that I’d sell to Lisa. I realized that most of my supply was gone, so I made a mental note to pick up after school. I was still nervous about how it was going to go, so I rolled a joint quickly and smoked it to calm my nerves.

By the time I was done, it was 7 in the morning, and Hunith knocked on my door.

“Merlin, time to get up!” She called.

I slowly walked out of my room and got ready for school. I hopped in the car when I was done.

“You know, Merlin,” Hunith began as she backed out of the garage, “you’re a 17 year old boy. I think you should be able to drive yourself to school.”

It took me a while to process what she was saying, partly because I was surprised and partly because I was blazed out of my mind.

“You mean like….with a car?” I said. Not my proudest moment.

Hunith laughed. “Yes. What would you say to us going car shopping after school today? You’d have a $10,000 limit, of course. We aren’t made of money.”

“I’d say hell yeah!” Hunith gave me a _look_. “I mean, I’d say, uh, thanks for the offer, that’s incredible.”

I was smiling like a doofus at that point, and I continued smiling as I got out of the car and walked into school. Man, today was going to be a good day.

I got to my class and started looking up used cars under $10,000 dollars, but none of them spoke to me. I wanted something that made me look like a badass, and also gave me a rush of adrenaline when I rode it. Then it dawned on me that a car wasn’t what I wanted at all. I wanted a motorcycle.

“Hey, man!” Arthur said, taking the seat next to me.

I was still smiling when I turned to him.

**ARTHUR**

“Oh, whats up, pal?” Merlin said, smiling.

My jaw almost dropped. Merlin was smiling. At _me._ He looked so cute when he smiled…

No. I didn’t think of him like that. I was just surprised he wasn’t being an asshole, that’s all. It had nothing to do with the adorable way his eyes twinkled when he grinned. His eyes? Why am I thinking of his eyes? I mentally shook myself, and that’s when I noticed that they were bloodshot. Man, Merlin needed to get more sleep. And I needed to stop caring so much.

I looked down and saw a bookbag under his desk. “That’s a first,” I said, pointing to it.

Merlin followed my gaze. When he saw what I was talking about, he burst into laughter.

“Oh, yeah. Well I’m all about my studies,” He said in between fits of giggles.

I was confused, but this was the best interaction I had ever had with him so far, so I didn’t say anything.

“So are you gonna take anything out of it or is it just for decoration?” I asked jokingly.

Merlin started to shake his head vigorously. “I can’t open it,” he said while still laughing.

“Um….alright then.” Something was definitely off about Merlin.

Class started, and I tried to pay attention, but I kept sneaking glances over at Merlin. He looked even more unfocused than usual.

I had a bad feeling throughout the whole period, and it just grew once the bell rang.

“See you at lunch, man!” Merlin said, walking out of the classroom. I immediately pulled out my phone.

_Me: keep an eye on Merlin when you guys have class together ok_

_Morgana: damn bro. stalk much?_

_Me: im serious! Something feels really wrong and idk I just don’t want him to get in trouble_

_Morgana: yea whatevs. ill make sure ur mancrush is fine_

_Morgana: but u seriously need to learn some boundaries_

I sighed and headed to my lit class, which I shared with Gwen. I knew Morgana was right, I was becoming weirdly attached to Merlin, and I hadn’t even known the guy for a full week yet. No wonder he didn’t like me all that much, I was creeping him out. I decided that I would give him some space.

“Hey, Arthur!” Gwen waved at me.

“Oh, hey Gwen,” I said, taking my seat next to her.

“You okay? You seem distracted,” Gwen said. Her brows were furrowed and she had a look of concern on her face.

“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just…You know what, it doesn’t even matter.”

“It’s got something to do with Merlin, right?” Gwen asked with a smile on her face. I rolled my eyes.

“I’m not talking about it with you. I’m gonna try this new thing where I mind my own business,” I told her.

“Oh, yeah?” Gwen said, smirking. “Did you decide that before or after you made Morgana be your lookout?”

“Shut up, Gwen.”

Of course Morgana had told her. She’s not one for keeping secrets, especially if the truth can be used to embarrass me. I groaned, put my head on my desk, and tried to think about anything besides Merlin Emrys.

**MERLIN**

It was fourth period, and by this time the high had worn off. What the fuck was I doing? In about half an hour, I was going to sell drugs on school property, which was the dumbest thing I’ve ever decided to do. Especially because I actually liked my foster family this time, and didn’t want to be sent away from them. And changing families after only 3 days would probably be some kind of record.

My phone beeped, and I opened it to find a new text from Lisa.

_Lisa: did u bring the stuff_

_Me: yea ofc. i said i would didnt i?_

_Lisa: just making sure_

_Lisa: meet me by the back stairwell during lunch :)_

_Me: aight, will do_

I put my phone away and rubbed my forehead. I was incredibly stressed out, and I just wanted to get this over with.

Just then, I noticed that Morgana had been tapping me on the shoulder.

“Merlin, are you alright?” She whispered to me.

I sighed. “Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.”

She raised her eyebrows at me, but didn’t say anything else. I kept my eyes on the clock and watched it tick towards lunchtime.

Finally, the lunch bell rang.

“Hey, I’ll catch up with you in a bit, alright?” I said to Morgana and then sped towards the back stairwell, leaving before she had a chance to say anything.

I waited by the stairwell, holding my backpack. A rush of students walked down on their way to lunch. It was definitely a sketchy place for a drug deal. I began contemplating leaving and telling Lisa to pick it up another time, but then she walked down the steps.

“Hi, Merlin,” she said to me, smiling.

I nodded at her. “You got the money?”

She looked around before pulling out a big wad of cash. I counted it, and after making sure that it was the right amount, I zipped open my bag and reached inside for the paper bag that held the ounce inside it.

As I handed the bag to her, my eyes wandered up and I saw someone standing on the staircase, watching us. Someone with shiny blonde hair.

Oh, fuck.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i can't even come up with an excuse lmao im just not good at updates

**MERLIN**

“What’s going on over here?” Arthur asked, but from the angry glint in his eyes I could tell he already knew.

“Go,” I whispered to Lisa, making a shooing motion.

She didn’t hesitate to run off, and I wished I could go with her. Instead, I sighed and turned around to face Arthur.

“You’re supposed to be an honor student, why don’t you tell me?” I said, smirking.

Arthur walked up to me, and I knew that he wasn’t going to let this go.

“What the fuck, man?” He said, shoving me against the wall. “You aren’t even done with your first week and you’ve already broken about 50 school rules!”

I laughed. “Must be some kind of record, then.”

“This isn’t funny, Merlin. Do you not care about your future at all?” Arthur asked, suddenly becoming more sad than mad.

I pushed him away from me. “Mind your own business. If I haven’t made it clear yet, I don’t like you. Now I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention this to anyone.”

He stood there silent for a while, thinking. “Are you going to keep doing this?” He finally asked.

I shrugged. “Who knows. Probably,” I admitted.

Arthur sighed and looked at me. I didn’t know what he was thinking, but I felt like I had disappointed him. And for some reason, that didn’t make me feel good.

“Look, Arthur,” I started, “I’m sorry about—no, fuck it. I’m not. This is what I do and if you’re so desperate to hang out with me, you just need to accept it.”

Jesus Christ, why couldn’t I just give the kid a simple apology? Something must be seriously wrong with me.

**ARTHUR**

Part of me felt heartbroken, even though I knew I shouldn’t. I’d only known Merlin for 3 days! But I figured eventually he would loosen up around me, and we could be friends. Now, I wasn’t even sure I wanted to be.

“Merlin…” I said, looking into his eyes, “don’t eat lunch with us anymore.”

I walked away, fighting every instinct to look back at him. I felt like I had been too harsh, but he needed to know that in order to hang out with us, he had to get his life together. I wasn’t about to spend every waking moment worrying about him.

I entered the cafeteria, and was immediately waved over by Morgana.

“Hey!” she said as I sat down, “have you seen Merlin anywhere? He told me he was gonna catch up…”

“Uh, yeah, I saw him. He said he decided not to sit with us today,” I told her, avoiding her eyes.

“Oh…damn, and I thought we were making progress!” Morgana said.

Gwen finally looked up from her phone. “You know, some people just can’t be helped,” she said.

I snorted. If only she knew how right she was…

“So Gwen,” I said, changing the subject, “how are things with Gwaine?”

She squeaked happily. “That’s who I’ve been texting! You’ll never guess what happened, it was amazing…”

Gwen continued on with her story, but I wasn’t focused. I kept thinking back to Merlin, and what had happened. Why was he trying so hard to mess up his life? It seemed like he wanted things to go bad for him. I wanted to help him so much, but I remembered what he had said to me.

_If I haven’t made it clear yet, I don’t like you._

That hurt me more than I thought it would. Especially considering how he had actually talked to me this morning in class…and then I put two and two together. He only talked to me because he was high.

**MERLIN**

I sat outside on the steps, smoking a cigarette. I chuckled dryly. Today had started off so well, and now it had gone to shit. Things change so fast. I decided not to go to my next few classes, even though that would be my second time skipping in the past three days. But who’s counting?

My phone beeped, and I saw it was a message from Lisa.

_Lisa: hey I just wanted to let you know how sorry I am about earlier…_

_Me: yea dw about it honestly I don’t even like that kid_

_Lisa: lol alright, so we’re cool?_

_Me: u bet_

I wasn’t lying, technically. I don’t like Arthur. But at the same time, I was upset that he had just shut me out like that, and I couldn’t help blaming Lisa. The only thing helping me get through the day was the knowledge that I’d be going car (or hopefully motorcycle) shopping today after school. And the 200 dollars in cash that I had in my bookbag helped soften the blow a little, too.

After messing around in Starbucks for a while, I checked the clock and saw that it was 1:40. Shit. I had to be back at school in ten minutes. I walked back to the school as quick as possible, and by the time I was there, kids were already pouring out to go home. I heard a car honk, so I looked over and saw Hunith rolling down the window.

“Hi, Merlin!” She said to me.

“Hey, Hunith,” I replied, climbing into the car.

“Are you excited?” She asked me. “I thought we’d start at a used car dealership near the mall, and work our way from there.”

“Actually, what would you say to a motorcycle?” I responded.

She looked at me, surprised. “Is that what you want?”

I said yes, and after a while of convincing, she agreed to let me get one, especially once I mentioned the difference in price. So that was how by the end of the day, I ended up going home with my brand new Harley Davidson bike for only $8,000.  And damn, was I excited.


End file.
